Olivia's Hidden Talents Pt 1
by CelineTheMagnanimous
Summary: Olivia Benson has a number of unrecognized talents. Why is it that they seem to pop up in the face of tradgedy? EO
1. Olivia's Day Off

Olivia Benson was a woman with many hidden talents. One of them was her love of writing. Poetry, short stories, even a few daydreams of writing a book. Over the years she had written over one hundred pieces of work, each one giving her a burst of pride. But today was the only day that she could remember that they didn't bring her joy. Today was the day she would have to organize them all. She had woken up and seen it circled on her new calendar. Elliot had given to her for Christmas, and she had fallen in love with the pictures of puppies on every month. The month of March hosted the adorable picture of a baby basset hound. The seasoned detective had been mesmerized by the floppy ears and big brown eyes from the start. Elliot had teased her about it, saying that he would just have to buy her one for her birthday in August.

She sighed, wasting time daydreaming wouldn't get her work done. So she did her usual morning ritual: took a shower, got dressed, and made some herbal tea. She chose to eat half of an orange, a small blueberry muffin, and a piece of toast with strawberry jam. After finishing up and throwing the dishes in the dishwasher, she prepared for the task at hand. "This is not going to be easy," she mused aloud, "but it sure beats doing DD5's." She then burst into a huge smile. Cragen had given her the day off as a thank you for her hard work lately. She had been glad to get a rare break from the everyday horrors that accompanied her job. Of course, leaving Elliot alone to finish three cases worth of paperwork was an added bonus.

Olivia walked into her office and looked around. There were papers cluttering her desk along with clips, an overturned stapler, boxes of staples, and at least a dozen pens and pencils. The bookcase was just as bad, with books and a few papers haphazardly onto its shelves. On top was a medium plastic tub. She also noticed that she would need to vacuum the carpet and dust off the picture frames. Turning to the small table against the wall, she decided that this task was going to take longer than a couple hours. The table was being smothered with her pens, old mail, a few CD's, and a small stereo. Underneath the table was a trunk that she inherited from her mother. It was handmade by a family friend. It had two separate compartments, each with its own separate lock and key. Her side was the left; Serena had used the right. She had received the key when her mother passed away, but never opened it. The key had been misplaced years ago and she never had the time to go looking for it. The detective sighed again. Stalling by admiring the pathetic excuse for an office wasn't productive.

Just as she had reached for a stack of mail, her phone rang. Letting out a relived sigh at a chance to procrastinate, she immediately did an about face and walked into the living room. Picking up the phone, she looked down and recognized the number as Cragen's cell phone.

"What's up Captain," she said in a confused voice, "Wasn't today my day off?" Looking at the clock she noticed that it was only three hours into the work day.

"Liv," Cragen voice crackled through the phone. "You need to get down here."

Olivia's blood turned cold at the tone of his voice. Her stomach dropped and tears welled up in her eyes. Something happened, and whatever it was, it was going to hurt. "Who." She managed to choke out. Her voice wasn't questioning, on the contrary, it was dead serious. But nothing could have prepared her for what she heard next.

"Elliot."


	2. Prayers and Bombs

"What the hell happened, Cap?" the commanding voice came loud and clear through the speaker of Cragen's phone. He winced and held it farther from his ear. The memories of times when Olivia lost control started flashing through his mind. He motioned another officer over from the crime scene, hoping to catch a lucky break. If fate was somewhat on his side, he could arrange for Olivia to be picked up and taken to Mercy Hospital.

"They were working on the Hughes case. Elliot had looked over your notes and put a connection together." He paused to see if Olivia wanted to say something. When all he heard was silence, he decided to just come out with it. "The wife, Charlotte, was on your list of suspects along with the mailman, correct?"

Olivia's mind instantly ran over the case. Charlotte and Rodger Hughes, both of them forty two. Married for ten years and has one child, currently living at NYU. Husband was found dead at nine in the morning. The wife had first said she was away on business. After they asked her for an alibi, she admitted to having an affair with the mailman. They had talked to him that afternoon. Kyle Patterson, thirty five years old. He had known Charlotte from some Obama campaign rallies. They had been having an affair for two months, and the husband had been completely oblivious. He was a slightly possessive man, which led Olivia to believe that it had been a pact. The husband had been shot twice, both shots directly over the heart. The last lead she had worked on was possible proof that Kyle had experience around guns.

"Yeah, I had seen some bills for a shooting range in Kyle's apartment. He also owns a rifle, but the lab said that wasn't the weapon used. We're looking for a 45 millimeter with a silencer. Neither Charlotte nor Kyle are registered for one, but you could get one from any punk off the street. Elliot suspected Rodger's jealous ex, Kelly Dotson, but she had a solid alibi." She had been rushing around her apartment like a crazy person for the past few minutes. Packing an overnight bag with two days worth of clothes, her comfortable sneakers, some toiletries, her hairbrush, her portfolio and her laptop with the wireless router, Olivia grabbed her cell phone and prepared to go to the hospital.

"It was the ex-fiancé. Kelly had been very jealous of Charlotte when she found out six months ago that they were married. Apparently she had been sleeping with Kyle as well. Charlotte found out so they planned to kill her. What they didn't count on was Rodger coming home first that night. So they killed him instead and planned to frame Charlotte for the entire thing." Cragen took a deep breath and chose his next words carefully. He knew that there was a lot at stake, and it depended on how he took care of the situation.

"Olivia, I am sent over a squad car to take you Mercy. Elliot just got sent into surgery about fifteen minutes ago. It seems that Kyle was good at chemistry; he and Kelly rigged the house to explode ten minutes after Charlotte got home." Cragen gave a deep sigh.

"Is he……" Olivia's voice came out in a whimper. She had always known there was a chance of dying out in the field, but she wouldn't know how to survive without her best friend. "Don, is he going to die? Was he in the house when it blew?" Her mind produced the image of the blue suburban house. She saw in a minds eye Elliot walk in and the whole thing blow up into smithereens. The tears began to slide down her pale cheeks, an outward sign of the utter fear that flowed through her veins.

"He's alive, but just barely. He was in the front yard when the explosion happened. The shrapnel gave him a severe concussion and brain swelling. He has a broken rib along with plenty of cuts and bruises. You need to get down here immediately; you're listed as his next of kin. The car should be pulling up any minute now, I sent Koester over because I know you two go back. I have to go; one of the doctors is walking towards us." He sounded regretful, knowing that Olivia would be in turmoil until she arrived to hear the update. Hopefully Koester could keep her somewhat calm.

Olivia was now in meltdown mode. "Call me if anything happens Don," she sobbed, "I have to know if anything happens!" her voice had a hysterical pitch to it, and it caused Don to shudder. He knew it would be bad, but he hoped he would never have to hear Olivia like this as long as he lived.

"I promise you Liv, I will call you the moment I know something. But I really have to go, sorry." The quiet voice of Cragen filed her ear. By the time she processed what he said, there was a sudden click.

Olivia Benson then did something that she hadn't done in 38 years. She put the volume of her phone onto the highest setting, laid it on the coffee table, dropped to her knees, and prayed.

"If there is a God," she prayed quietly, "please listen to me for a minute. I know I haven't talked to you in decades. I know I've done things that probably made you ashamed that you created me. I know I didn't that there were so many things I needed to do over the years, that I was too much of a coward to face. But I only want one thing in the whole universe. Elliot. Please don't take him away from me! I know we've made some mistakes together over the years, but e doesn't deserve to die! He still can do so much good for New York. He helps put away sick bastards everyday, willingly. He's been so loyal to helping the justice system that it nearly cost him his marriage! Elliot has saved me countless times over the years. He was even willing to sacrifice himself when Gitano had us in that warehouse. I know that he seriously messed up with Fin, but he isn't perfect! Please, think about his children. It's bad enough that they've had to deal with his time-consuming job, but how long would it take them to heal from this? Eli would grow up fatherless! Don't you want him to know such an amazing person like El?" Olivia looked out the window in despair. She was still crying, and could only hope that her prayers were being given the time of day. She was going to give this prayer everything she got, because this could be her last hope.

"What about me? How will I be able to do my job without my partner at my side? He's my best friend, he knows me better than anyone else. He knows exactly how to work with me in sync, something that has taken us years to master! Sure, we've had our issues with each other…." Her voice trailed off suddenly. She heard the sirens of the squad car outside her apartment building and the screech of the tires on asphalt. A sliver of hope defiantly rose in her chest, she had one last argument to use with God.

"I know our partnership hasn't been a cakewalk. We've had our problems; some serious, and some minor. But please remember all of the good that came out of us being part of the squad. I'll make you a deal: If you grant me this one request, I promise you I will turn my whole life around. I will go back to church and confession. I'll visit my mom's grave every month. I'm gonna take some time off and go on a vacation. I will open up to my therapist a bit more, and have sessions twice a month. I can start donating my clothes I don't wear anymore to the women's shelter. Along with anything else that they could use. And I am going to track down as many of our previous victims as possible. I need to see if they still need help moving on. Just grant me this one wish, and I promise not to ask for anything like this again." Olivia sighed and looked up at the ceiling. She didn't think that she deserved the time of day from God, but he was supposed to show mercy, right?

There was a loud knock on the door and she jumped. Remembering the task at hand she yelled a quick "Come in!" She was too busy making sure her clothing was appropriate to notice her long-time friend and new squad member come in.

"You still have those clothes I sent you for Christmas last year! I didn't think you would have forgiven me." The soothing voice of Timothy Koester was the best sound in the world to Olivia. It made her feel a little better, but there would be time for catching up later.

"Good to see you too, but we can catch up later. If you'll grab the laptop bag and start the car, I will lock the door after I grab a jacket." She rushed into her room as she said this and yanked open the third drawer. She grabbed the jacket that Elliot had loaned her awhile back and ran back into the living room. She noticed that Tim had grabbed the overnight bag as well and managed a small smile. She shoved her phone into her small purse and raced out the door. After locking it, she decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator. One of her neighbors, who often let Elliot into the building, happened to be walking through the door at the same time she was and slammed into her.

"Whoa, Liv! Slow down before you hurt yourself. What happened?" The concerned face of Amber Hayes peered down at her. Amber held out her hand to help Olivia up from her current position on the floor. "Is that your friend in the squad car out there? He just started it up so you better get a move on." She stood aside to let Olivia down the stairwell.

"Sorry Amber, Elliot was caught in an explosion today and is in surgery. I need to get to Mercy!" Olivia was saying this as she flew down the stairs three at a time. Her heart was pounding at the need to get to Elliot, hoping tat there wouldn't be any more distractions.

"Oh my goodness Olivia! Let me know if you ever need any help, you have my number." Amber's voice sounded just as worried as Olivia felt. She knew both Elliot and Olivia for years now. They had threatened one of her boyfriends three years ago after they found out that he verbally abused her.

Liv's voice floated up the stairwell right before she ran out the door. "I will Amber, thanks!"

Olivia was running so fast that even though she tried skidding to a halt, she still managed to slam her left arm into the door of Tim's car. "Shit!" was the only thing she said before getting into the car. The moment her seatbelt clicked shut, the car lurched forward and sped down the road. Noticing the look of determination in Tim's face, she decided to stay quiet as she flicked on the sirens. Together they drove towards Mercy Hospital, fearing the worst and hoping for a miracle to save Elliot Stabler.


End file.
